Forced evictions and their social and health impacts in Southern Somalia: a qualitative study in Mogadishu Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps

Background: Forced evictions are common in conflict-affected settings. More than 500 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are evicted daily in Mogadishu. Context specific research is necessary to inform responsive humanitarian interventions and to monitor the effectiveness of these interventions on IDPs health.

Objective: This study explored the causes of forced evictions and their health impacts among IDPs in southern Somalia.

Methods: We used a qualitative approach, conducting 20 semi-structured interviews, six key informant interviews and four focus group discussions. We used maximum variation sampling to include a wide range of participants and used the framework approach and Nvivo software to analyse the data.

Results: In this context, landlords often rented land without proper tenure agreements, resulting in risk of forced evictions. Informal tenure agreements led to fluctuations in rent, and IDPs were evicted because tenancy laws were inadequate and failed to protect IDP rights. IDP settlements often increased the value of land by clearing scrub, and landlords often sought to profit from this by evicting IDPs at short notice if a buyer was found for the land. The effect of eviction on an already marginalised population was wide ranging, increasing their exposure to violence, loss of assets, sexual assault, disruption of livelihoods, loss of social networks and family separation. Evicted IDPs reported health issues such as diarrhoea, malaria, pneumonia, measles and skin infections, as well as stress, anxiety, psychological distress and trauma.

Conclusion: Forced evictions remain one of the biggest challenges for IDPs as they exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. Prioritizing implementation of legal protection for IDP tenure rights is necessary to prevent unlawful evictions of IDPs. Humanitarian agencies should aim to respond more effectively to protect evictees and provide support to prevent poor health outcomes. Further quantitative research is needed to further examine the relationship between forced evictions and health outcomes.

This publication relates to R2HC funded study; Displacement, Migration, and Health in Southern Somalia